Viewing segments of event media

ABSTRACT

Techniques for providing segments of media items associated with events to users are described herein. Computing device(s) may receive from a user a request for a segment of a media item associated with an event. The computing device(s) may also receive data presented as evidence of acquisition of a pass for the event, verify that the data is associated with a valid pass that has been purchased for the event, and, based on the verifying, provide the segment of the media item to the user. Additionally or instead, the request may include a time length for the segment and/or a beginning position of the segment, and the computing device(s) may determine, based on a policy and one the time length and/or beginning position, a part of the requested segment of the media item to provide. The computing device(s) may then provide the determined part of the segment to the user.

BACKGROUND

In a world of increasing distractions and activities, it is oftendifficult to select among competing demands and opportunities. Forexample, moviegoers often arrive late at shows, missing critical initialminutes for which they have paid increasingly higher ticket prices.Those purchasing tickets for and attending other events face similarchallenges; life often intervenes, causing the attendees to miss thebeginning, middle, or end of their events. Such events may include movieshowings, concerts, sporting events, plays, musicals, webcasts or anyevent for which a ticket is purchased. It is also difficult to selectamong different event opportunities. Moviegoers, for instance, may viewtrailers for multiple movies to select a movie to see in the theater,but trailers are often misleading. The result of these difficulties isoften frustrating repeat ticket purchases. A person who missed thebeginning of a movie may purchase tickets to it a second time, catchingthe part that the person missed, and a person trying to select a moviebased on trailers may attend multiple movies, leaving early from thosethat prove unsatisfying. The result of using repeat purchases asremedies for the above-mentioned difficulties is to exacerbate demandson time and resources, making those difficulties even more likely torecur.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The detailed description is set forth with reference to the accompanyingfigures. In the figures, the left-most digit(s) of a reference numberidentifies the figure in which the reference number first appears. Theuse of the same reference numbers in different figures indicates similaror identical items or features.

FIG. 1 shows an illustrative network environment in which a serviceprovides segments of media items associated with events to usersresponsive to user requests for those media items, the requestsaccompanied by at least one of evidence of acquisition of passes for theevents, time lengths for the segments, or beginning positions of thesegments within the media items.

FIG. 2 shows an illustrative graphic user interface of a service thatenables a user presenting evidence of acquisition of a pass for an eventto request and receive a segment of a media item associated with thatevent.

FIG. 3 shows an illustrative graphic user interface of an event venueprovider that enables a user presenting evidence of acquisition of apass for an event of the event venue provider to request and receive asegment of a media item associated with that event.

FIG. 4 shows an illustrative process for receiving a request for asegment of a media item associated with an event, for receiving datapresented as evidence of acquisition of a pass for the event, forverifying that data, and, based at least in part on the verifying,providing the segment of the media item.

FIG. 5 shows an illustrative process for receiving a request for asegment of a media item associated with an event, the request specifyinga time length or beginning position, determining at least a part of thesegment to provide based on the time length or beginning position, andproviding the part of the segment of the media item.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

This disclosure describes, in part, techniques for providing to userssegments of media items associated with events. One or more computingdevices of a service provider may receive a request from a user for asegment of a media item associated with an event. The service providermay also receive data presented as evidence of a valid acquisition of apass (e.g., valid purchase of a ticket, valid use of a subscriptionnumber or rewards card, etc.) for the event, either with the request orseparately. The service provider may then verify that the data isassociated with a valid acquisition for the event and, based at leastpartly on the verifying, provide the segment of the media item to theuser. Additionally or instead, the request may include a time length forthe segment and/or a beginning position of the segment within the mediaitem, and the service provider may determine, based on a policy and thetime length and/or beginning position, a part of the requested segmentof the media item to provide to the user. The service provider may thenprovide the determined part of the segment of the media item to theuser.

For example, a user may purchase a ticket to a movie, concert, sportevent, etc. The user may miss part of that event—or wish to previewit—and, utilizing a user computing device, may request a segment of amedia item associated with the event that corresponds to the part missedor to be previewed. The user may also provide evidence of the purchaseof a ticket for the event. A service provider may receive the requestand evidence, verify the evidence, and provide the requested segment tothe user through the user computing device.

In another example, a user may wish to view a segment of a media itemassociated with an event, and the user may or may not have acquired apass for that event. Based on a policy, however, all or part of thesegment may be made available to the user via his or her user computingdevice upon request, either for fee, for service membership, orotherwise. A service provider may receive an electronic request for thesegment from the user, determine a part that may be provided to the userbased on the policy and on a time length or beginning segment positionindicated in the request, and electronically provide the determined partof the segment to the user for presentation of the user computingdevice. Such a policy may result, for example, from movie producers thatwish to make parts of their movies available in order to increase ticketsales.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example network environment in which a serviceprovides segments of media items associated with events to usersresponsive to user requests for those media items, the requestsaccompanied by at least one of evidence of acquisition of passes for theevents, time lengths for the segments, or beginning positions of thesegments within the media items. As illustrated, one or more serviceprovider computing devices 102 (hereinafter “server provider devices102”) of a service provider may be connected to a user computing device104 (hereinafter “user device 104”) associated with a user 106 via anetwork 108. The user 106 may have acquired a pass 110 (e.g., electronicticket, physical ticket, subscriber information, rewards card, etc.) toan event 112 and may request 114, via the user device 104, a segment 116of a media item associated with the event 112. The user 106 may alsoprovide data 118 presented as evidence of acquisition of the pass 110.Also or instead, the user 106 may request 114 a segment 116 of a mediaitem associated with an event 112 for which the user 106 has notacquired a pass 110. The service provider devices 102 may receive therequest 114, and, in some implementations, data 118, and may provide thesegment 116 in response. The service provider devices 102 may includeprocessor(s) 120, network interface(s) 122, and memory 124. The memory124 may store media items 126, policies 128, a network server 130, averification module 132, a segmentation module 134, and a paymentsmodule 136. The service provider devices 102 may receive any or all ofthe segment 116, the media items 126, or the policies 128 from a mediaprovider 138.

In various embodiments, the service provider devices 102 and userdevices 104 may each be a computing device, such as a personal computer(PC), a laptop computer, a server, a server farm(s), a mainframe, atablet computer, a work station, a telecommunication device, a personaldigital assistant (PDA), a media player, a media center device, apersonal video recorder (PVR), a television, an electronic book reader,a set-top box, a camera, a video game console, a wearable computingdevice, a kiosk, a gaming device, processor(s), integrated componentsfor inclusion in a computing device, an appliance, an electronic devicefor inclusion in vehicles, a gaming device, or any other sort of device.

The service provider associated with the service provider devices 102may provide any sort of services. For example, the service provider maybe an entity that hosts or provides the event 112, such as a movietheater company, or a concert venue. In other examples, the serviceprovider may sell the pass 110 or otherwise provide the pass 110 onbehalf of the event provider/host or provide access to media itemsegments 116 on behalf of the event provider/host. In further examples,the service provider may not be affiliated with any event provider/hostor verify passes 110. In such examples, the service provider may, forinstance, provide access to different parts of a media item at differentprice levels.

The user device 104 of the user 106 may be any sort of device capable ofconnecting to the network 108, of making the request 114, and ofreceiving and playing the segment 116. For example, the user device 104may have a browser or other client application that is capable ofconnecting to the service provider devices 102 through the network 108and generating user interfaces, such as network pages, from thoseservice provider devices 102. The user device 104 may further have adisplay and one or more input mechanisms to enable the user 106 tointeract with the user interfaces received from the service providerdevices 102.

In some implementations, the network 108 may be any sort of network ornetworks that connect the service provider device 102 and user device104, as mentioned above. The network 108 may also connect the serviceprovider devices 102 and the media provider 136, in someimplementations. Also, the network 108 may connect any of the serviceprovider devices 102 and user device 104 to other devices. The network108 may be any type of network, such as a wide area network (WAN), alocal area network (LAN), or the Internet. Also, the network 108 may bepublic, private, or include both public and private networks. Further,the network 108 may be wired, wireless, or include both wired andwireless networks. The network 108 may utilize any one or more protocolsfor communication, such as the Internet Protocol (IP), other packetbased protocols, or other protocols. Additionally, the network 108 maycomprise any number of intermediary devices, such as routers, basestations, access points, firewalls, or gateway devices.

The user 106 may acquire a pass 110 to any sort of event 112. Exampleevents 112 may include movie showings, concerts, sporting events, plays,speeches, festivals, rallies, conventions, fairs, musicals, webcasts,etc. Such an event 112 may play an associated media item (as in the caseof a movie showing) or may be recorded as a media item (e.g., arecording of a live sports event or musical). The user 106 may acquire apass 110 at an event venue, at a ticket office or on a network site.Such a network site may be associated with the event venueoperator/owner or with a third party that may sell or otherwise providethe pass 110 on behalf of the event venue operator/owner. The pass 110may have an identifier such as a textual code, a graphic, a tag (e.g., aradiofrequency identification (RFID) tag or near field communication(NFC) tag), or a machine readable code (e.g., an optical code, aone-dimensional (1D) bar code, a two-dimensional (2D) bar code, etc.) oran image (e.g., of the pass of any of the foregoing). Examples of a 2Dbar code (which may also be referred to as a “matrix code”) include, butare not limited to a QR® code or “quick response” code, an EZCode® barcode, a PDF417 or “portable data file” bar code, a high capacity colorbar code, etc. The idea may be entered as text, scanned, photographed orotherwise electronically or optically input. Also, the pass 110 may bepurchased or acquired in conjunction with a customer rewards card orother consumer card that may be used to track and identify purchases. Insome examples, the pass 110 may be a customer rewards card or otherconsumer card. For example, the pass 110 may be purchased from a movietheater owner/operator that has a customer rewards card that is scannedat the time of purchasing the pass 110.

With purchase or other acquisition of the pass 110, the user 106 may ormay not attend the event 112. If attending, the user 106 may miss partof the event 112, such as the first few minutes if arriving late, or thelast few minutes if needing to leave early. The user 106 may also missany part of the event 112 if, for instance, the user 106 is interruptedfrom the event 112. These missed parts of the event 112, or simply adesire to view again a certain part, may motivate a user 106 to request114 a segment 116 of a media item associated with that event 112. Such asegment 116 may correspond to the part that the user 106 desires to viewor may be a highlight reel or summary of that part. The media itemassociated with the event 112 may be a media item played at the event112, may be a recording of the event 112, or may be a recording of aanother instance of the event 112 (e.g., a previous showing of a musicalrather than the showing for which the pass 110 was purchased).

In some implementations, the user 106 may initiate the request 114 byaccessing a user interface on the user device 104. Such a user interfacemay be a network page provided by a service provider device 102 or auser interface of a client application executing on the user device 104that is configured to facilitate communication with the service providerdevices 102. The user interface may comprise a succession of interfaces,each seeking one or more pieces of information or may be a singleinterface.

The user interface may prompt the user 106 to login to an account orallow the user 106 to continue without logging into an account. Forexample, the user 106 may subscribe to a service offered by the serviceprovider which may enable the user 106 to obtain the segment 116 eitherfree of additional cost (beyond any fees for the service) or at a ratediscounted in comparison to that paid by non-subscribers.

The user interface may further enable the user 106 to indicate whichmedia item that the user is interested and what part of that media itemthe user 106 wishes to obtain. The user interface may enable the user106 to indicate the media item by providing a search field, selectablelinks, a drop down list, radio buttons, etc. Upon receiving indicationof the media item, or without receiving any indication, the userinterface may display segmentation options available for that mediaitem. For example, the user interface may enable the user to specify orselect any segment 116 of the media item having a length not exceeding apredetermined threshold amount of time (e.g., 90 seconds, 20 minutes,etc.) in any location within the media item. In other examples, parts ofthe media item may be unavailable or may only have a highlight reel orhighlight summary (hereinafter “summary”) available that includes onlycertain portions of the event that may be of interest or significance,e.g., action sequences, plot points, scoring drives, etc. Accordingly, asummary may include clips or scenes within a specified segment 116. Forinstance, a summary of the first 20 minutes of a movie may include twominutes of significant scenes from the first 20 minutes. In someexamples, both a segment 116 and a summary for that segment may beavailable, and the user interface present an option to the user 106 toselect between the segment 116 itself and a summary.

In some implementations, the user interface may present a list of mediaitems for which the user 106 has purchased/acquired passes 110. The listmay be presented through the user interface responsive, for example, tothe user 106 logging into an account of the service provider. The itemsmedia items listed may include, for example, those for which the serviceprovider sold/provided the passes 110.

The user interface may further prompt the user 106 to enter data topresent as evidence of acquisition of a pass (e.g., purchase of aticket). Such data may include pass information (e.g., a ticket number)or customer rewards card number that may be entered into a textual fieldof the user interface. Also or instead, the user interface may promptthe user 106 to initiate scanning or other capture of a bar code orother identifier utilizing the user device 104. For example, the usermay utilize an imaging device with which the user device is equipped(e.g., a camera on a smartphone) to capture an image of the pass andtransmit the image to the service provider device 102 or media providerdevice 138.

Further, the user interface may prompt the user 106 to select a pricingoption for purchasing an opportunity to view the segment 116. Theoptions presented may depend on the media item, time length, beginningposition, segment type (full segment or summary), whether the user 106subscribes to a service, or whether the user 106 has redeemable credits(e.g., credits associated with a customer rewards card). In otherexamples, pre-set options may be presented to the user 106. The user 106may then use the user interface to select a pricing option. In someexamples, the pricing presented to the user 106 may be non-linear, with,for instance, a 2 minute segment 116 having a lower price (e.g., $1.00)and a 5 minute segment 116 having a higher price (e.g., $10.00).

Upon entering and selecting the information requested by the userinterface, the user 106, utilizing the user device 104, may submit theinformation as the request 114 and pass acquisition evidence 118, as asingle communication or as multiple communications, through the network108 to the service provider devices 102.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example graphic user interface generated by aservice provider device 102 that enables a user 106 to request 114 andreceive a segment 116 of a media item associated with that event 112. Asillustrated, the graphic user interface may be a network page or anapplication (referred to hereinafter as “network page 202”) provided bythe service provider device 102. The network page 202 may include a userinterface portion 204 for requesting 114 the segment 116 as well as anumber of other elements, such as a browsing window with categories,information identifying the service provider, information indicatingthat the user 106 is logged in, a search field, and a link to one ormore tools. The user interface portion 204 may include a media entryportion 206 for a user 106 to textually enter (if a text box) or select(if a drop-down menu) a media item. The user interface portion 204 mayalso include a segment details portion 208 for a user 106 to indicate atleast a beginning position of the segment 116 within the media item or atime length/duration. Further, the user interface portion 204 mayinclude a segment preferences portion 210 for a user 106 to indicatewhether the user 106 prefers to receive a full segment 116 or a summaryof the segment 116. The user interface portion 204 may also include apass acquisition evidence portion 212 for a user 106 to enter passinformation, a customer rewards card number, or other information orfiles (e.g., a pass image). Also, the user interface portion 204 mayinclude a pricing options portion 214 for a user 106 to select amongpricing options for different segment types or lengths. Depending onuser entries in other parts of the user interface portion 204, thepricing options portion 214 may be populated with a specific price. Theuser interface portion 204 may also include a control, such as a “next”button, to cause submission of the information entered through the userinterface portion 204.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example graphic user interface of an event venueprovider that enables a user 106 to request 114 and receive a segment116 of a media item associated with that event 112. As illustrated, thegraphic user interface may be a network page or an application (referredto hereinafter as “network page 302”) provided by the service providerdevices 102, which may be devices of the event venue provider, such as amovie theater operator/owner. The network page 302 may include a userinterface portion 304 for requesting 114 the segment 116 as well as anumber of other elements, such as information identifying the eventvenue provider and a link to one or more tools provided by the networkpage 302. The user interface portion 304 may include a media entryportion 306 for a user 106 to textually enter (if a text box) or select(if a drop-down menu) a media item, such as a movie. The user interfaceportion 304 may also include a segment details portion 308 for a user106 to indicate at least a beginning position of the segment 116 withinthe media item/movie or a time length/duration. Further, the userinterface portion 304 may include a segment preferences portion 310 fora user 106 to indicate whether the user 106 prefers to receive a fullsegment 116 or a summary of the segment 116. The user interface portion304 may also include a pass acquisition evidence portion 312 for a user106 to enter pass information, customer rewards card number, or otherinformation or files (e.g., a ticket image). The user interface portion304 may also include a control, such as a “next” button, to causesubmission of the information entered through the user interface portion304.

Returning to FIG. 1, and as mentioned above, the user 106 may request114 a segment 116 for a media item associated with an event 112 forwhich the user 106 has not purchased a ticket 110. Such a segment 116may be made available for free or for a price to enable the user 106 topreview the media item. In such implementations, the user 106 mayprovide much of the same information through a user interface asdescribed above, but may not be asked for a ticket number or otherevidence of purchase of a ticket. Alternatively, the user interface maysimply list one or more predetermined segments 116 that are availablefor the user 106 to request 114 for a given media item and requestselection of a pricing option if applicable to that media item.

In various implementations, after submitting the request 114 and, ifapplicable, the ticket purchase evidence 118, the user device 104 mayreceive the requested segment 116 or at least a part of the requestedsegment 116 (referred to collectively hereinafter as “the segment 116”).The user device 104 may receive the segment 116 as a media stream,playing the stream as it is received and discarding after playback sothat a local copy of the segment 116 is not maintained on the userdevice 104. In other examples, the user device 104 receives and stores alocal copy of the segment 116 that is provided with use and storagerestrictions. Such restrictions may result in the local copy beingdeleted after a preset number of viewings or after a preset amount oftime. The restrictions may also prevent the user 106 from transmittingor copying the local copy of the segment 116.

As shown in FIG. 1, the service provider devices 102 may includeprocessor(s) 120, network interface(s) 122, and memory 124. Theprocessor(s) 120 may include any one or more central processing units orgraphic processing units. The network interface(s) 122 may support bothwired and wireless connections to networks, such as cellular networks,radio, WiFi networks, short range networks (e.g., Bluetooth, IR, and soforth.). The memory 124 (and other memories described throughout) is anexample of non-transitory computer-readable storage media and mayinclude volatile, nonvolatile memory, and/or other persistent and/orauxiliary non-transitory computer-readable storage media. Thus, thememory 124 may include, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flashmemory, or other memory technology, or any other medium which can beused to store content, applications for access by a service providerdevice 102. The memory 124 may store media items 126, policies 128, anetwork server 130, a verification module 132, a segmentation module134, and a payments module 136. As described in more detail below, thesemodules are executed by the processor(s) 120. While the modules and dataare shown in FIG. 1 as being stored in a memory of a single computingdevice, it is to be understood that the modules and data may bedistributed among a plurality of local and/or remote computing devices,and/or may be implemented as, or provided by, other web services.Moreover, the memory 124 may be used to store any number of functionalmodules that are executable on the processors 120, as well as data anditems that are rendered by a service provider device 102. Thus, thememory 124 may, for example, store an operating system.

In various implementations, the media items 126 may include any sort ofmedia files, such as video, audio, images, etc. and may be stored in adata store of the service provider devices 102 or of the media provider138. Media items 126 may include a single type of media file or multipledifferent types of media files and may be for a single type of event 112or for multiple types of events 112. The media items 126 may includecomplete media items 126 (e.g., complete movies, recording of an entiresporting event, etc.), segments of media items 126 (scenes or parts ofvarying lengths), or summaries of media items 126 or media itemsegments. The media items 126 may be received from the media provider138, generated by the segmentation module 134, or some combination ofboth.

The policies 128 may be set by the media provider 138, by the serviceprovider, or by agreement of the media provider 138 and serviceprovider. The policies 128 may determine what parts of media items areavailable for delivery as segments 116, maximum time lengths of segments116, whether summaries or full segments 116 are available for particularparts of a given media item 126, and storage/use restrictions governingwhether local storage of a segment 116 by the user device 104 isallowed, and under what circumstances. The policies 128 may also specifywhether a ticket purchase is required for viewing of a segment 116 ofany length of a particular media item 128 or for viewing a segment 116of a requested length. Further, the policies may specify pricesassociated with different segments of different lengths, whether theservice provider has rights to generate segments, and any restrictionson lengths of parts of media items 126 that may be included in segments.The policies 128 may be maintained by a data store of the serviceprovider devices 102.

The network server 130 may provide a user interface to the user device104. For example, the network server 130 may provide a user interface inthe form of a network page, such as one of the network pages illustratedby FIGS. 2 and 3. The network server 130 may also receive the request114 and pass acquisition evidence 118 from the user device 104. Uponreceiving the request 114 and pass acquisition evidence 118, the networkserver 130 may check policies 128 associated with the media item 126specified in the request 114. If the policies 128 indicate that a passacquisition is required to provide the requested segment 116, then thenetwork server 130 may invoke the verification module 132 to verify thepass acquisition evidence 118. If the verification module 132 validatesthe pass acquisition, or if verification is not required, the networkserver 130 then determines whether payment is required based on thepolicies 128 and on any subscription that the user 106 may have toservices of the service provider. For example, policies 128 may specifythat payment is required, but the subscription may cover all or part ofthat payment. If payment is required, the network server 130 may provideany payment information included in the request 114 to the paymentsmodule 136 for processing. If payment information is not included in therequest 114 but is required by the policies 128, the network server 130may serve a network page to the user device 104 requesting paymentinformation and may provide the received payment information to thepayments module 136. Upon receiving confirmation of payment, if paymentis required by the policies 128, the network server 130 queries the datastore of the media items 126 to determine whether the data storeincludes the requested segment 116. If the data store includes therequested segment 116, the network server 130 serves the segment 116 tothe user device 104. If the data store does not include the requestedsegment 116, but the policies 128 allow the service provider to generateall or part of the segment 116, the network server 130 may invoke thesegmentation module 134, receive the segment 116 or part of the segment116 from the segmentation module 134, and serve the segment 116/part ofthe segment 116 to the user device 104.

The verification module 132 may be invoked by the network server 130 andprovided with pass acquisition evidence 118. Such evidence may includepass information (e.g., a ticket number), a customer rewards cardnumber, information obtained from scanning an identifier of the pass110. If the pass acquisition evidence 118 is an image, the verificationmodule 132 may perform image analysis on the image or invoke anothermodule to perform the analysis, and may extract information based on theanalysis. If the pass 110 was sold by another party, the verificationmodule 132 may interface with a system of the other party, providing thepass acquisition evidence 118 or information extracted from the passacquisition evidence 118 to that system and receiving, in response, anindication of whether the pass acquisition evidence 118 or extractedinformation is valid. If the pass 110 was sold by the service provider,the verification module 132 may compare the pass acquisition evidence118 or extracted information to purchase data maintained by the serviceprovider and receive, in response, an indication of whether the passacquisition evidence 118 or extracted information is valid. In someimplementations, if the pass 110 is sold by the service provider, theuser 106 need only log into an account with the service provider, andthe verification module 132 can obtain the pass acquisition evidence 118from information maintained by the service provider. In suchimplementations, there is no need for the user device 104 to provide thepass acquisition evidence 118.

In various implementations, the segmentation module 134 may generate thesegment 116 from the media items 126 based on the policies 128. Based onthose policies 128, the segmentation module 134 may generate the segment116 or a part of the segment 116 for the network server 130 to provideto the user device 104. The segmentation module 134 may operate based onmetadata provided with the media items, selecting the segment 116 orpart based on, e.g., time stamps, scene markers, etc. If generating asummary of a media item 126, the segmentation module 134 may utilize themetadata to determine significant frames or parts of that media item126. The segmentation module 134 may generate segments 116 or parts ofsegments 116 in response to invocation by the network server 130 and mayprovide those segments 116/parts of segments to the network server 130and to the data store for media items 126. Also or instead, thesegmentation module 134 may independently generate one or more segments116 for a media item 126 and store the one or more segments 116 in thedata store for media items 126.

In further implementations, the payments module 136 may be invoked bythe network server 130 to process payment information received from theuser device 104. The payments information may then be provided by thepayments module 136 to a third party payment service which will, inreturn, indicate to the payments module 136 whether payment wassuccessful. The payments module 136 then indicates success or failure tothe network server 130. In some implementations, because the user 106subscribes to a service of the service provider or is a rewards customerof the service provider, no payment is required, but the payments module136 is invoked to update account information for the user 106 toindicate that the segment 116 was provided. In other implementations, aticket for the event for which the user has requested a segment 116 isnot subject to a monetary charge, and thus, no payment is required (butthe payments module 136 is invoked to update account information).

In some instances, the service provider devices 102 may have features orfunctionality in addition to those that FIG. 1 illustrates. For example,the computing device(s) may also include additional data storage devices(removable and/or non-removable) such as, for example, magnetic disks,optical disks, or tape. The additional data storage media may includevolatile and nonvolatile, removable and non-removable media implementedin any method or technology for storage of information, such as computerreadable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data.In addition, some or all of the functionality described as residingwithin the computing device(s) may reside remotely from the computingdevice(s). In such implementations, the computing device(s) may utilizethe network interfaces 122 to communicate with and utilize thisfunctionality.

Various instructions, methods and techniques described herein may beconsidered in the general context of computer-executable instructions,such as program modules, executed by one or more computers or otherdevices. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, objects,components, data structures, etc. for performing particular tasks orimplement particular abstract data types. These program modules and thelike may be executed as native code or may be downloaded and executed,such as in a virtual machine or other just-in-time compilation executionenvironment. Typically, the functionality of the program modules may becombined or distributed as desired in various embodiments. Animplementation of these modules and techniques may be stored on ortransmitted across some form of non-transitory computer readable media.

In further implementations, the media provider 138 may be any entityproviding the media items 126 or policies 128 to the service provider.For example, the media provider 138 may be a movie production company,distribution company, or movie theater. The media provider 138 mayprovide the media items 126 as any or all of entire media items 126, assegments of media items 126, as summaries of media items 126, or assummaries of segments of media items 126. Also, or instead, the mediaprovider 138 may provide the service provider with rights to generateone or both of segments of media items 126 or summaries of media items126/segments of media items 126. These rights may be specified in thepolicies 128. The policies 128 may also specify whether segments ofmedia items 126 are to be streamed or locally stored. Further, thepolicies 128 may specify restrictions on a number of viewings orduration associated with local storage.

FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate example processes. These processes (as well aseach process described herein) are illustrated as logical flow diagrams,each operation of which represents a sequence of operations that can beimplemented in hardware or in software implemented by hardware. In thecontext of software, the operations represent computer-executableinstructions stored on one or more computer-readable storage media that,when executed by one or more processors, perform the recited operations.Generally, computer-executable instructions include routines, programs,objects, components, data structures, and the like that performparticular functions or implement particular abstract data types. Theorder in which the operations are described is not intended to beconstrued as a limitation, and any number of the described operationscan be combined in any order and/or in parallel to implement theprocess.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example process 400 for receiving a request for asegment of a media item associated with an event, for receiving datapresented as evidence of acquisition of a pass for the event, forverifying that data, and, based at least in part on the verifying,providing the segment of the media item. The process 400 includes, at402, receiving, by one or more computing devices, a request from a userdevice for a segment of a media item. The media item may be associatedwith an event. Examples of media items and corresponding events includemovies and movie showings, songs and concerts, or recordings of sportingevents and sporting events, to name a few. The segment may be abeginning part of the media item or a summary of a part of the mediaitem.

At 404, the receiving may include receiving, with the request,indications of at least one of a time length for the segment or abeginning position for the segment within the media item. In someimplementations, the segment may be taken from a summary for the entiremedia item based on a requested time length for the segment.

At 406, the one or more computing devices may also receive from the userdevice, as part of the request or separately, data presented as evidenceof acquisition of a valid pass for the event. In some implementations,the received data may be user credentials associated with a customerrewards card. In further implementations, the received data may be anidentifier such as a textual code, a bar code, or an image of at least aportion of a ticket.

At 408, the one or more computing devices may verify that the data isassociated with a purchase of a pass for the event. If the data is animage, the verifying may include performing image analysis on the imageor invoking another module to perform the analysis, and may extractinformation based on the analysis. The verifying may also or insteadinclude interfacing with a system of another party or comparing the dataor extracted information to purchase data maintained by the serviceprovider.

At 410, the one or more computing devices may request payment for thesegment. In some embodiments, a previously established form of paymentmay be used to pay for the segment, such as the form of payment used toacquire the pass for the original event.

At 412, the requesting may comprise varying the amount requested basedat least in part on a time length requested for the segment, on whetherthe segment is a summary, on whether the user of the user devicesubscribes to a service, or on whether the user has redeemable credits.

At 414, the one or more computing devices may provide the segment of themedia item to the user device based at least in part on the verifying.Various techniques may be used to provide the segment, as discussed inturn. At 416, the providing may also be performed in response to receiptof payment. At 418, the providing may also or instead be performed basedat least in part on whether the user subscribes to a service. At 420,the providing may comprise streaming the segment to a user device orstoring the segment locally on a user device with restrictions on anumber or views or on a storage duration.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example process 500 for receiving a request for asegment of a media item associated with an event, the request specifyinga time length or beginning position, determining at least a part of thesegment to provide based on the time length or beginning position, andproviding the part of the segment of the media item. The process 500includes, at 502, generating a user interface to be presented on a userdevice associated with the user making the request for the segment.

At 504, the one or more computing devices may receive a request from auser device for a segment of a media item associated with an event. Therequest may specify at least one of a time length for the segment orbeginning position for the segment within the media item.

At 506, the one or more computing devices may also receive from the userdevice, as part of the request or separately, data presented as evidenceof acquisition of a valid pass for the event. In some implementations,the received data may be user credentials associated with a customerrewards card. In further implementations, the received data may be anidentifier, such as a textual code, a bar code, or an image of at leasta portion of a ticket.

At 508, the one or more computing devices may verify that the data isassociated with a purchase of a pass for the event. If the data is animage, the verifying may include performing image analysis on the imageor invoking another module to perform the analysis, and may extractinformation based on the analysis. The verifying may also or insteadinclude interfacing with a system of another party or comparing the dataor extracted information to purchase data maintained by the serviceprovider.

At 510, the one or more computing devices may determine, based at leastin part on the request and on a policy for a time length or position ofsegments, a part of the requested segment of the media item to provide.At 512, the determining may include enabling the user to purchase otherparts of the requested segment in addition to the determined part. Thedetermined part of the requested segment may be the entire requestedsegment, a summary of the requested segment, or a beginning part of therequested segment. At 514, the determining may be performed based atleast in part on the verifying.

At 516, the one or more computing devices may provide the determinedpart of the requested segment of the media item. If other parts arepurchased, the providing may also include providing the other parts.

It is to be understood that not necessarily all objects or advantagesmay be achieved in accordance with any particular embodiment describedherein. Thus, for example, those skilled in the art will recognize thatcertain embodiments may be configured to operate in a manner thatachieves or optimizes one advantage or group of advantages as taughtherein without necessarily achieving other objects or advantages as maybe taught or suggested herein.

All of the processes described herein may be embodied in, and fullyautomated via, software code modules executed by a computing system thatincludes one or more computers or processors. The code modules may bestored in any type of non-transitory computer-readable medium or othercomputer storage device. Some or all the methods may be embodied inspecialized computer hardware.

Many other variations than those described herein will be apparent fromthis disclosure. For example, depending on the embodiment, certain acts,events, or functions of any of the algorithms described herein can beperformed in a different sequence, can be added, merged, or left outaltogether (e.g., not all described acts or events are necessary for thepractice of the algorithms). Moreover, in certain embodiments, acts orevents can be performed concurrently, e.g., through multi-threadedprocessing, interrupt processing, or multiple processors or processorcores or on other parallel architectures, rather than sequentially. Inaddition, different tasks or processes can be performed by differentmachines and/or computing systems that can function together.

The various illustrative logical blocks and modules described inconnection with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented orperformed by a machine, such as a processing unit or processor, adigital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integratedcircuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or otherprogrammable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discretehardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform thefunctions described herein. A processor can be a microprocessor, but inthe alternative, the processor can be a controller, microcontroller, orstate machine, combinations of the same, or the like. A processor caninclude electrical circuitry configured to process computer-executableinstructions. In another embodiment, a processor includes an FPGA orother programmable device that performs logic operations withoutprocessing computer-executable instructions. A processor can also beimplemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combinationof a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one ormore microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other suchconfiguration. Although described herein primarily with respect todigital technology, a processor may also include primarily analogcomponents. For example, some or all of the signal processing algorithmsdescribed herein may be implemented in analog circuitry or mixed analogand digital circuitry. A computing environment can include any type ofcomputer system, including, but not limited to, a computer system basedon a microprocessor, a mainframe computer, a digital signal processor, aportable computing device, a device controller, or a computationalengine within an appliance, to name a few.

Conditional language such as, among others, “can,” “could,” “might” or“may,” unless specifically stated otherwise, are otherwise understoodwithin the context as used in general to convey that certain embodimentsinclude, while other embodiments do not include, certain features,elements and/or steps. Thus, such conditional language is not generallyintended to imply that features, elements and/or steps are in any wayrequired for one or more embodiments or that one or more embodimentsnecessarily include logic for deciding, with or without user input orprompting, whether these features, elements and/or steps are included orare to be performed in any particular embodiment.

Disjunctive language such as the phrase “at least one of X, Y, or Z,”unless specifically stated otherwise, is otherwise understood with thecontext as used in general to present that an item, term, etc., may beeither X, Y, or Z, or any combination thereof (e.g., X, Y, and/or Z).Thus, such disjunctive language is not generally intended to, and shouldnot, imply that certain embodiments require at least one of X, at leastone of Y, or at least one of Z to each be present.

Any process descriptions, elements or blocks in the flow diagramsdescribed herein and/or depicted in the attached figures should beunderstood as potentially representing modules, segments, or portions ofcode which include one or more executable instructions for implementingspecific logical functions or elements in the process. Alternateimplementations are included within the scope of the embodimentsdescribed herein in which elements or functions may be deleted, executedout of order from that shown, or discussed, including substantiallyconcurrently or in reverse order, depending on the functionalityinvolved as would be understood by those skilled in the art.

Unless otherwise explicitly stated, articles such as “a” or “an” shouldgenerally be interpreted to include one or more described items.Accordingly, phrases such as “a device configured to” are intended toinclude one or more recited devices. Such one or more recited devicescan also be collectively configured to carry out the stated recitations.For example, “a processor configured to carry out recitations A, B andC” can include a first processor configured to carry out recitation Aworking in conjunction with a second processor configured to carry outrecitations B and C.

Although the subject matter has been described in language specific tostructural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understoodthat the subject matter defined in the appended claims is notnecessarily limited to the specific features or acts described. Rather,the specific features and acts are disclosed as exemplary forms ofimplementing the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system comprising: an electronic data storeconfigured to store computer-executable instructions; and a computingdevice including a processor, the computing device being incommunication with the electronic data store and configured to executethe computer-executable instructions to perform acts comprising:receiving, from a user device associated with a user, a request for asegment of a movie, the request including: a first indication associatedwith a beginning position of the segment of the movie; a secondindication associated with an ending position of the segment of themovie; a third indication to generate a summary of the segment of themovie between the beginning position and the ending position; and ticketdata associated with a purchase of a ticket for a showing of the movie;identifying, based at least in part on receiving the request, a policyassociated with generating segments of the movie; verifying, based atleast in part on comparing the ticket data to ticket purchase datamaintained for the showing, that the ticket is associated with a validpurchase for the showing; determining, based at least in part oncomparing the first indication, the second indication, and the thirdindication to the policy, one or more highlights between the beginningposition of the segment of the movie and the ending position of thesegment of the movie; generating, in accordance with the policy andbased at least in part on the one or more highlights, the segment datacorresponding to the summary of the segment of the movie; determining athreshold number of times the summary of the segment of the movie isauthorized to be viewed on the user device; transmitting, to the userdevice, the segment data corresponding to the summary of the segment ofthe movie; determining that the summary of the segment of the movie hasbeen viewed the threshold number of times on the user device; and basedat least in part on the summary of the segment of the movie being viewedthe threshold number of times on the user device, causing the segmentdata to be automatically deleted from the user device.
 2. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the computing device is further configured to executethe computer-executable instructions to perform an act comprisingrequesting a payment for the summary of the segment of the movie.
 3. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the computing device is further configured toexecute the computer-executable instructions to perform an actcomprising determining, based at least in part on the policy, usagerights for the segment of the movie, and wherein transmitting thesegment data to the user device comprises transmitting the segment datain accordance with the usage rights for the segment of the movie.
 4. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein determining the one or more highlights isbased at least in part on metadata stored in association with the movie,the metadata indicating at least one of the one or more highlightsbetween the beginning position of the segment of the movie and theending position of the segment of the movie.
 5. A computer-implementedmethod comprising, under control of one or more computing devicesconfigured with computer-executable instructions: receiving, from acomputing device, a request for a segment of a media item, the mediaitem being associated with an event, and wherein the request includes atleast: first data representing a first marker corresponding to abeginning position of the segment and a second marker corresponding toan ending position of the segment; second data corresponding to a passfor the event; and third data representing that the segment comprises asummary of the segment of the media item between the beginning positionand the ending position; determining a policy for the media item, thepolicy being associated with generating segments of the media item;verifying, based at least in part on comparing the second data to passdata maintained for the event in an electronic data store, that thesecond data is associated with a valid pass purchased for the event;determining, based at least in part on comparing the first data and thethird data to the policy, that the request satisfies the policy;identifying, based at least on the first data and the third data, one ormore highlights corresponding to the summary of the segment between thebeginning position and the ending position; generating, based at leastin part on the one or more highlights, fourth data corresponding to thesummary of the segment; determining, based at least in part on thepolicy, a number of times the summary of the segment is authorized to beviewed; electronically providing the fourth data to the computingdevice; and causing the fourth data to be automatically deleted based atleast in part on the summary of the segment being viewed at least thenumber of times.
 6. The computer-implemented method of claim 5, whereinthe second data comprises at least one of a textual code, a graphic, atag, a machine-readable code, or an image.
 7. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 5, wherein the first data includes at least a timelength of the segment.
 8. The computer-implemented method of claim 5,further comprising: requesting a payment for the summary of the segment;and receiving the payment for the summary of the segment, and whereinthe fourth data is provided to the computing device based at least inpart on receiving the payment.
 9. The computer-implemented method ofclaim 8, wherein an amount of the payment is based at least in part onat least one of: a time length of the summary of the segment, whether auser associated with the computing device subscribes to a service, orwhether the user has redeemable credits.
 10. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 5, wherein providing the fourth data to the computingdevice is based at least in part on a user associated with the computingdevice being subscribed to a service providing media items.
 11. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 5, wherein the request furtherincludes fifth data corresponding to user credentials associated with acustomer rewards program.
 12. The computer-implemented method of claim5, wherein the second data further includes a pass identifier of thepass for the event.
 13. The computer-implemented method of claim 5,wherein providing the fourth data comprises providing the fourth datawith restrictions on at least one of streaming the summary of thesegment on the computing device or storing the summary of the segmentlocally on the computing device.
 14. The computer-implemented method ofclaim 5, wherein the fourth data comprises a copy of the summary of thesegment, and wherein electronically providing the fourth data to thecomputing device further includes providing fifth data that representsthe number of times the summary of the segment is authorized to beviewed on the computing device.
 15. The computer-implemented method ofclaim 5, wherein the second data corresponding to the pass for the eventcomprises image data, the method further comprising: analyzing the imagedata; and determining, based at least in part on analyzing the imagedata, one or more identifiers of the pass for the event, and whereinverifying that the second data is associated with the valid passpurchased for the event is based at least in part on comparing the oneor more identifiers with the pass data maintained for the event in theelectronic data store.
 16. One or more non-transitory computer-readablemedia storing computer-executable instructions that, when operated by aprocessor, perform operations comprising: receiving, from a computingdevice, a request for a segment of a media item associated with anevent, wherein the request comprises: a time length for the segmentcorresponding to a beginning position for the segment and an endingposition for the segment; and an indication to generate a summary of thesegment between the beginning position and the ending position;identifying, based at least in part on receiving the request, a policyfor the media item, the policy including at least an allowed time lengthof segments for the media item and a number of times the segments forthe media item is authorized to be viewed; determining, based at leastin part on comparing the request to the policy, that the requestsatisfies the policy; generating, based at least in part on the requestsatisfying the policy, segment data corresponding to the summary of thesegment between the beginning position of the segment and the endingposition of the segment; providing, to the computing device, the segmentdata corresponding to the summary of the segment; determining that thesummary of the segment has been viewed equal to or greater than thenumber of times; and based at least in part on the summary of thesegment being viewed equal to or greater than the number of times,causing the segment data to be automatically deleted from the computingdevice.
 17. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media ofclaim 16, the operations further comprising: verifying that the requestis associated with a valid purchase of a pass for the event, and whereingenerating the segment data corresponding to the summary of the segmentis further based at least in part on verifying the valid purchase of thepass.
 18. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media ofclaim 16, wherein the request is a first request, the operations furthercomprising receiving, from the computing device, a second request for anadditional segment.
 19. The one or more non-transitory computer-readablemedia of claim 16, the operations further comprising causing a userinterface to be displayed on the computing device, the user interfaceincluding one or more of: a first portion that prompts a user of thecomputing device to select the media item associated with the event; asecond portion that prompts the user to request the segment of the mediaitem and to specify at least one of the time length or the beginningposition of the segment; a third portion that prompts the user toprovide pass data as evidence that the user purchased a pass to theevent; or a fourth portion that prompts the user to provide purchasedata or subscriber information to obtain the segment of the media item.20. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 16,the operations further comprising: determining an identity of a userbased at least in part on the computing device; determining one or moremedia items for which the user has purchased a pass, the one or moremedia items including the media item associated with the event; andcausing presentation of the media item associated with the event on adisplay of the computing device.